I have finally been getting around to covering a buckram-and-wire bonnet form I made almost two years ago. I am not a milliner. Through attempting to make some of my own bonnets I have gained a very deep respect for people who *are* milliners. It is a completely different thing from sewing garments.
There are lots of layers. It's hard to figure out how they all work together. Judah watched me work on this particular bonnet and said, "It's just like a body, Mommy! You have a skeleton and muscles and a fatty layer and epidermis and dermis."
And something clicked. Yeah! It's like that. Well, sort of. You have your buckram layer, reinforced with wire. You have padding, if needed. You have interfacing, if needed. You have your outside layer. You having lining and facing on the inside. It all works together somehow.
Although this bonnet form was not intended to becoming a Mourning bonnet, it was quite convenient to have it already made and ready to cover when I began preparing to make a mourning bonnet.
Now, a "Mourning Bonnet" per se, isn't exactly what I wanted. I have found it difficult to find any hard-and-fast "rules" about mourning during the 1860's. Some magazines and books give guidelines for dress for the various stages of mourning but they do not all agree with one another. Generally, though, a bonnet of black crape (a thin gauzy sort of material, from what I can find) was worn during Deep Mourning. This would have not had any trimmings except perhaps a band of crape, and the inside of the bonnet, which is typically finished with a white frill, would have been trimmed with crape as well. A woman in deep mourning may have worn, over her bonnet, a very long veil made of crape that covered her to the waist in the front and back. It was all very sober and black and crape-y.
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| This is one of those "I found it online" images. . .so if it is yours, let me know! |
From there, it seems there are less strict guidelines for lesser degrees of mourning.
"The next degree is to wear white collar and sleeves, a bow of crape upon the bonnet, and plain white lace facings, leaving off the crape veil, and substituting one of plain black net. . . From this the mourning passes into second mourning. Here a straw bonnet, trimmed with black ribbon or crape flowers, or a silk bonnet with black flowers on the outside, and white ones in the face, a black silk dress, and gray shawl or cloak, may be worn. Lead color, purple, lavender, and white, are all admissible in second mourning, and the dress may be lightened gradually, a white bonnet, shawl, and light purple or lavender dress, being the dress usually worn last, before the mourning is thrown aside entirely, and colors resumed. " - Florence Hartley, The Ladies Book of Etiquette and Manual of Politeness 1860
A fashion plate description from 1864 Godey's describes a bonnet for "light mourning" as such: :
Bonnet for light mourning. the front is of black velvet. The crown is soft, and formed of white tulle, which is covered with a fanchion of black and white plaid silk, edged with bugle fringe. On the left side of the crown is a spray of white flowers. The cape is of black velvet, trimmed with a bullion of plaid silk. the inside trimming is of pearl color, and white flowers, and white tulle.
And another from the same year: :
Bonnet for light mourning. The front is of black silk, with a fall of chinille dringe drooping over the front. The crown and caps are of white silk, trimmed with a chinille fanchion. The inside trimming is white roses, black grass, and white tulle.
There are other references that indicate sometimes mourning was not observed through attire at all, but rather through household practices, or the social behavior of the person in mourning.
I decided to make a bonnet for "second mourning", or a lighter stage of mourning, that could also be used as "normal" bonnet. A plain black silk bonnet (not of crape - it's not even made or available these days anyway) is perfectly serviceable for a woman of the 1860's period whether she be in mourning or not. I also decided to make a veil, since the use of one just seems to indicate modesty and reserve; traits that are desirable for a person who is in mourning. Quiet respect. Because I am not in deep mourning (one in deep mourning would not have gone out to the sort of social opportunities an average Civil War reenactment offers) I am not making the long crape veil, but rather an every-day style of bonnet veil.
So I started covering this thing on Friday and I finished hemming the veil today. I decided it can work for the current Historical Sew Fortnightly challenge, which is something made with rectangles, squares or triangles - one curve allowed. My bonnet is covered with completely rectangular strips of silk with the exception of the back tip, so that can count as my one curve.
Besides the fact that the bonnet is of low-sheen black silk this is no different than any bonnet. (Shiny, showy fabrics were to be avoided during the mourning period.) I decided to add a drawn section to the brim of the bonnet as many original bonnets seem to have a drawn section, plus I just like the look. And it hides any lumps or bumps in the buckram form! I didn't have wire or reed on hand to draw the silk over so I used a cord braided from wool yarn instead. It's a bit "soft" looking, but from a distance is not that noticeable. I padded the form with natural cotton batting before covering it, since the silk is a bit thin. The ties are made from the same silk and hemmed all around since it is hard to find ribbon wide enough to approximate the period look, not to mention ribbon made of natural fibers!
The inside is trimmed with a frill of white cotton and lace. Usually this frill would be made of silk net or tulle, but as that is incredibly expensive these days many milliners use cotton net instead. I, being the cheap person I am, found a light weight lace trimmed dresser scarf at the thrift store. I bought it for the lace since it is cotton and quite pretty but decided the actual cotton fabric was very nice as well. I cut two strips from the scarf, leaving the lace on the edge, and sewed the strips together and then gathered it up and attached it to the inside of the bonnet brim. I had some little white flowers on hand that were perfect for the inside trimmings (not only do these trimmings look pretty, they also serve a useful purpose for these bonnets that are worn far back on the head! They prevent the bonnet from sliding off!) I added some of the green leaves that were with the flowers (originally part of a long floral length) but I may take them off. I am not sure if green leaves were used for mourning wear, and I'm not sure if these particular green leaves are even appropriate. I like how the green, white and black looks together but the more I look at those leaves the more I am not sure about them. . .
The veil is a long rectangle that is wide enough to cover my face in the front and long enough to pin to the bonnet plus some. While original veils were made of net or lace, again we costumers have the problem of not having the appropriate fabric these days! I decided to use black silk gauze and I think it was a good choice. It is transparent enough to easily see through and still offers some privacy and shade.
While many bonnet veils had a drawstring at the top edge, to gather up to fit the bonnet, I decided to just pin mine to the bonnet instead. It's easier and I like how the floating ends look. I have seen veils worn this way in several images from the time period.
I am pleased with how this came out and I hope it gets a lot of good use in the years to come - although not necessarily connected with mourning!
Love,
Sarah
The Challenge: Squares, Rectangles and Triangles
Fabric: Silk for the outside, cotton batting for the padding, cotton voile for the inside lining, lightweight cotton and lace for the inside frill, dotted swiss cotton organdy for the curtain lining and silk gauze for the veil.
Pattern: None. All rectangles! ;) (except for the bonnet tip, but I traced around it to get the pattern.)
Year: Late 1850's/Early 1860's
Notions: Thread, needle, pins.
How historically accurate is it? The look is appropriate. The materials are plausible, although I made a few compromises. The fibers at least are correct. Constructions was done with a combination machine stitch and hand stitching.
Hours to complete: Perhaps eight.
First worn: Hopefully to an event this coming weekend.
Total cost:
New materials for the cover and the veil, about $15. Recycled or stash materials for everything else, about $5. Total cost: about $20.
